February 4, 2022

Paway, The Vets & Get Joy

🐶 Industry News

– Had the chance to talk with Jason Meltzer, founder of Paway this week. Paway is a social app for dog walkers that was recently selected as one of the winners of the 2022 Purina Pet Care Innovation Prize. In 2014, Jason was running a popular Los Angeles dog-walking business when he teamed up with a pair of tech entrepreneur brothers who wanted to create the Uber for dog walkers. The three launched Wag, which today is one of the big US dog-walking apps (the other being Rover). Wag secured a few hundred million in venture capital over the last few years and plans to go public soon in a SPAC deal.

Jason left Wag in 2019 and created Paway, an app designed for both casual and professional dog walkers. Casual walkers get a free app that tracks walk details, provides Waze-like alerts and offers monthly challenges. The paid version helps pro dog walkers run their business. Today, Paway has more than 22,000 users in over 100 countries. Jason is looking to raise funding and to also connect with DTC pet companies that are interested in testing a new channel to reach customers. Jason can be contacted via LinkedIn.

– EU Startups, a website focusing on European startups, is looking for pet tech companies to present at its Annual Summit in May. Eight promising pet companies will be selected to make pitches, network with investors and tour sunny Barcelona. Applications are being taken until February 18th.

– Petriage, a Washington-based veterinary telehealth company, has partnered with Crum & Foster pet insurance, so that the latter’s customers can use Petriage’s online symptom checker and its 24/7 helpline.

💰 Financing & Deals

• The Vets, an Israeli startup that offers at-home veterinarian visits in 11 US cities, has landed a $40 million Seed round. The company has treated more than 7,000 pets to date and plans to expand to 25 cities by the end of the year. Can $40 million be considered a Seed round?

• Get Joy, a direct-to-consumer dog wellness startup, closed a $4 million Seed round. The Connecticut-based company was founded in 2019 by a former Facebook executive. Now $4 million – that’s a Seed round.

• Dane Creek Capital, which bills itself as the pet industry’s merchant bank, has acquired Kettle Craft, a Canadian manufacturer of chew pet treats. This is the 19th pet company acquisition by Dane Creek since 2017.

🤷‍♂️ Somewhat Relevant

• Young pet owners plan to spend less, lose pets in 2022.

• Social influencers are cloning their pets.

• UK vegan pet food startup OMNI, is looking to pay a dog owner $10,000 to go vegan for three months … along with their dog.

💼️ Pet Industry Jobs

• Sustainability Manager (Brand Marketing) – Purina (St. Louis, MO)

• Digital Marketing Director – DocuPet (New York state)

• Creative Producer – PrettyLitter (Los Angles/ remote)

• Goldendoodle website looking for Doodle owners to join their pack (remote)